Rosie Makes Sweet And Sour Pork.

 
  All the Hawthornes love a good stir fry
and like I've said before,
if we want one, I have to do it.
I do not find the ChinaMacs down here acceptable.
The fried wonton strips are consistently stale.
The meat is generally stringy/tough.
And their egg rolls are substandard.

So, Rosie is making her version of Sweet and Sour Pork for lunch.

And she got very OC on her vegetables.

Celery, carrot, onion, portabellas.

 

 Added in some garden peppers.

Sweet and Sour Sauce

1/4 cup sugar

2 TB soy sauce

2 TB ketchup

pinch kosher salt

1/2 cup pineapple juice

1/4 cup cider vinegar

1/2 cup pineapple chunks

1/2 small red bell pepper, cut into cubes

1/2 small green bell pepper, cut into cubes

2 TB cornstarch dissolved in 1/4 cup cold water.

Combine sugar, soy sauce, ketchup, salt, pineapple juice, and vinegar.

Bring to a boil.

Add in pineapple and peppers.

Bring to a boil.  

Reduce to simmer.

Add in cornstarch slurry, and cook, stirring,

until mixture thickens.

Cover and set aside until stir fry is ready.

Serve hot over the pork stir fry.

Here's a little tease for you.

This is my goal.

Back to the sauce:

Boily!  Boily!

Add in cornstarch slurry and stir until thickened.

Cover and set aside.

I had three boneless pork loin inch-thick slices

which I cut into bite-sized pieces.

I tossed these with a little soy sauce -

a tablespoon or two,

then tossed them in a bit of cornstarch.

My mise en place.

Top left:

Cubed pork in soy and cornstarch

Batter for pork:

 1/3 cup flour

1/3 cup cornstarch
1 egg white, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/3 cup water, as needed

Cutting board on right:

Cornstarch slurry

Sweet and Sour Sauce

Baby corn

Bamboo shoots and sliced water chestnuts

Cutting board on bottom left:

Celery

Pepper

Onion

 Portabella

Carrot

Pineapple chunks

 Sweet and Sour Pork

Heat peanut oil in wok over high heat to 350°.

Add in vegetables and cook, stirring, about 2-3 minutes.

Remove from wok, pour into a bowl, and cover.

Reheat wok and more peanut oil over high heat to 350°.

Shake excess batter off pork and fry in batches.

You don't want to crowd the pan,

which lowers the temperature of the oil,

and gives you greasy  food.

Maintaining proper temperature is key to frying.

This is what gives you a crisp crust.

Serve stir fry over rice and pour the sweet and sour sauce over top.

So it's not authentic Asian.

It's still good.

And by the way, the  ChinaMacs are in no way authentic Asian either.

Rosie Makes Shrimp Wontons.

 

 Rosie made some delightful little appetizers for lunch today.

Shrimp wontons.

First, I'm making the dipping sauce.

 Dipping Sauce

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup rice vinegar

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tsp fish sauce

Mix all together and stir to dissolve sugar.

 Chop up one shallot and some cilantro.

 Place some cilantro and shallot on each wonton.

 Add a shrimp.

 Have an egg wash to seal the wontons.

1 egg mixed with 1 TB water.

 350° peanut oil

Fry until golden brown, spooning hot oil over the top side.

When first side is light golden, flip it over.

Drain on paper towels.

Rosie Rambles And Comes Up With Ravioli. And A Special Sauce.

 Here's the goal today:

 This is homemade ravioli stuffed with a crab meat and cheese mixture and covered with a roasted red pepper, cream, and Parmesan sauce.  Sherry was involved.  It was intensely good.

Good neighbor, Zippy, recently brought us a load of sweet red bell peppers. 

 Mr. Hawthorne has been happily roasting the peppers and canning them. 

 

  

After blackening over an open flame, plunge the peppers into ice water.

Rub off the skin. 

Don't be OC on the skin.  You can leave a little char.

 Canned roasted red peppers.  

What a joy!

Today, I'm making homemade ravioli.
I'm stuffing them with a crab meat and cheese mixture and I'm making a roasted red pepper and cream sauce for the ravioli to take a bath in.

That said, let's make some pasta!

Pasta

1 lb flour

4 eggs

water, as needed

Make a well in the flour and add the eggs.
Mix by hand, trying to keep the eggs from breaching the flour wall.
Knead, until smooth and elastic.
Mine seemed a little dry, so I added a tablespoon or so of extra virgin olive oil.

You want a supple, elastic, smooth dough.
Cover with a towel and let rest for 20 minutes.

Cut into four pieces.

I covered 3 loaves with plastic wrap and refrigerated them for another time and place.

 I ran the fourth section through my pasta machine.

This is the pasta on #4 setting.

 This is the dough on the #5 setting.

I'm not good at this at all, so I stopped at #5.

I still had #6 and #7 settings to go.

 

This is what the #5 setting looks like.

Really not as thin as I'd like it, but I was scared to go to #6 - #7.

I needed an extra pair of hands.

 Place a sheet of dough over the ravioli frame

 Press dimples with the tray.

 Fill with crab meat mixture.

Crab Meat Mixture 
8 oz. crab meat
1/2 stick unsalted butter
juice of 1/2 lemon
2 oz. goat cheese
2 oz. cream cheese
Melt butter, goat cheese, and cream cheese in small saucepan.
Add lemon juice and gently fold in crab meat so as not to break it up.
Heat through.

 Place another sheet over top.

 Take a rolling pin to it.

 Turn over and spank it onto a floured surface.

Yes, I am aware that I suck at ravioli making.

But this is only the second or third time I've made them.

I will get better.
Cut individual ravioli.
Let dry one hour.
Turn and go for another hour.
Cook now or cover and refrigerate for the next day, which is what I did since I wanted this for lunch.

 Now I'm ready to make the sauce for the ravioli.

Roasted Red Pepper Cream Sauce

1 TB unsalted butter

2 oz. prosciutto, chopped

1/3 cup dry sherry

3/4 cup cream

1 roasted red pepper, puréed

4 oz. crab meat

2 TB grated Parmesan cheese

Melt butter in small sauce pan over medium high heat.

Add in prosciutto and brown.

Remove pan from heat and add in 1/3 cup sherry.

Return pan to heat and scrape up the goodie bits.

Reduce heat to low and let the sherry cook down to 1-2 TB.

Add in the cream and pepper purée.

Reduce by half over low heat/bare simmer.

Gently add in crab meat and Parmesan.  Heat through.

Spoon sauce over crab meat stuffed ravioli.

Sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Roast a red pepper over an open flame.

Keep turning until it's evenly blackened.

Immediately submerge in ice water.

Rub off the charred skin.

Get some cream, Parmesan cheese, and parsley.

Chop up some prosciutto.

Purée a roasted red pepper.

 Melt the butter.  Add in the prosciutto.  Brown it.  Add in the sherry. Reduce.
Add in cream and roasted red pepper and reduce.  Add in crab meat and Parmesan.  Heat through.

That sauce is something else!

The difference between freshly made pasta and the dried grocery store stuff is astonishing.

The Hawthornes Experience A Five-Course Wine-Paired Dinner At The Saltbox Café.

The other afternoon, the Mr. Hawthorne and I stopped in at The Saltbox Café on Colington Road for lunch.  I had a wonderful hamburger, cooked perfectly medium rare, and fries, extra crisp as asked, which I ate of off for two more meals.  Mr. H. had the exceptionally lightly fried flounder, which he loves. 

We found out that they had a THING going on Sunday afternoon - a five-course meal with wine pairings for $40.   ROSIE is ON this.  I made three rezzies and asked Middle Hawthorne to be our Designated Driver.  I was the Designated Drinker.  Tough job, but somebody has to do it.

Chris Martin, the district manager of the coastal division of Tryon Distributing, was there to introduce each wine, all of which were from Spain.

 Mr. Hawthorne's shirt matches the chairs. Yay!

We arrived to a packed house at the appointed hour, 5:30, and were served our first wine for the walk-in welcoming, a 2009 Marques de Gelida Brut Cava.  This met Rosie's approval.

Whenever I go to a restaurant, Taste of the Beach, or whatever event, I carry a small notebook.  Tonight was no exception.  I make notes.  I'm sitting in low light and I can't see what I'm writing.  Yes, yet another effect of my advanced years.

At each presentation of wine throughout the courses, Mr. Martin gave us a little information.  I'm looking at my scribbled notes and I read, "Moor influence in Spain - cinnamon, spices, cumin, cardamon."  Then, I read, "Cava - made in traditional method. 2nd fermentation in bottle for 2 1/2 years!  Right up there with what they do with champagne."

I really should use my little recorder.  But the instructions are not user-friendly. 

Anyhoos, back to the Cava.  It was a lovely bubbly and I can't describe wines.  Actually, most wine descriptions I read sound like something on a resumé, but I digest.

The appetizers consisted of stuffed blue cheese olives, marinated kalamata olives, smoked tilefish on crostini, and pickled eggplant.  I must recreate that eggplant.  So very good!

Amanda and Randolph, here's a small issue you need to look into.
We had two tables pushed together and covered with cloth.
I went to move a wine glass and almost knocked the glass over because I set it on the continental divide of the two tables and the tables were different heights. 

B E A C H

Everyone seems to be having a wonderful time.

It's loud and there's a lot of laughter.

Chef Randolph Sprinkle came out to do the rounds.

I loved his pants.  From chefsware.com.

Note to self:  "Self, get some chef pants!"

Our first course - Paella, consisting of a peppery fresh heads- and tails-on (for the best flavor) Wanchese shrimp, saffron rice, and Andalusian sausage.  Loved the paella.  The shrimp was just a tad overcooked.  At least mine was.  Still good!

This was served with a 2013 Valdecuevas Verdejo.  Mr. Martin might have described this wine, according to my notes, which are getting suspect, as "acidic, herbal, floral." 

Our second course and I am in heaven.
It's panko fried oysters, with a roasted garlic, lemon zest aioli/remoulade.
Chefs Sprinkle & Sprinkle, please let me know when you start putting fried oysters on your lunch menu.
We will be there!

This was served with a 2012 La Cana Alberino, which I really don't remember since I was honing in on the oysters.  You know how I love my oysters!

 

Here's our third course - smoked duck breast over a white bean purée with asparagus tips and a balsamic reduction.  My notes said, "smoked pastrami" might have been in this.  Should I believe my notes?

The wine was a 2012 Borasao Tres Picos Garnacha,
My notes go downhill.
I have ...something illegible... and then,  "Produces fresher flavors - black tea, animal note, blackberry."

Animal note????  What is "animal note?" 

Fun, relaxed ambiance.
Gotta get me some chef pants!

Our fourth course - from my notes - "ground lamb empanada with apricots, dried figs, cinnamon, finished with a lamb stock reduction."

The wine was a 2013 Telmo Rodriguez Almevedre Monostrell.
My notes have dissolved into a hot mess.
I can't decipher all the words.

Guess what happened right before the dessert course?!
Youngest Hawthorne arrived back in town.
He couldn't get into the house and showed up at Saltbox Café for the key.
He got the last course.

Our fifth course, and dessert, was Cinnamon Sugar Churros with Chili Chocolate Fondue.

In my notes, I had "Slightly sweet.  10%.  unidentifiable jibberish.  Vehicle for spiced chocolate ganache."

The wine was a 2013 Jorge Ordonez Special Selection Malaga.

My notes are disintegrating. 

Chefs Sprinkle and Wolf/Sprinkle have created a wonderful restaurant on Colington Road and the Hawthornes enjoyed our 5-course meal.  Perhaps I might have enjoyed the wine too much.

Please, Chefs, let us know when your next Wine and Dine will be!